The International Road Assessment Programme (iRAP) has been recognised in the 2026 International Safety Media Awards (ISMA) for campaigns that are helping to inspire action for safer road design and encourage the next generation of female road safety leaders.
The commendations recognise iRAP’s #SaferRoadsPledge Campaign and its International Women in Engineering Grants Initiative, and were presented last week at World Safety 2026 in Cape Town, South Africa.
El Premios Internacionales de Medios de Comunicación sobre Seguridad celebrate excellence in communication and media that advances injury prevention and safety promotion.
Pledging to make every journey safer
El #SaferRoadsPledge campaign, launched by iRAP, the International Road Federation and FIA Foundation, calls on organisations involved in the design and financing of roads to commit to ensuring that new and upgraded roads achieve a safety standard of 3-stars or better for all road users.
It has already attracted 225 pledges from 68 countries including from the world’s major design and engineering firms, road authorities, the private sector, road owners and funders, academia and NGOs.
The campaign was a crucial advocacy tool and driver for safer roads commitments ahead of the 4th Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety which brought leaders from across the world together in Morocco in February 2025.
It continues to support global advocacy, commitments and action in the UN Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030 and UN Decade of Sustainable Transport 2026-2035.
In particular, #SaferRoadsPledges are supporting ongoing discussions with road designers, financiers and road design software providers for initiatives and programmes which embed 3-star or better safety in road designs, projects and policies to save lives.
Empowering women to lead the future of road safety
iRAP was also recognised for its International Women in Engineering Training Grants Initiative.
The scheme is building road safety capacity worldwide, enabling women engineers to build the skills, confidence and networks needed to contribute to safer road infrastructure worldwide.
The initiative provides women engineers with access to iRAP training in road safety methodologies, supporting greater diversity and expertise across the global road safety profession.
Since 2021, the inspirational programme has received applications from 94 countries and supported more than 203 successful grantees from 54 countries. In 2025, a record 115 women from 35 countries received grants.
The initiative is part of iRAP’s global Capacitación y Acreditación Programme which has trained more than 100,000 people in 179 countries.
Together, the two award-winning campaigns are accelerating the achievement of iRAP’s vision, that working together, we can create a world free of high-risk roads.
Judy Williams, Global Programme and Communications Manager at iRAP said, “These awards are a wonderful recognition of the power of communications to turn road safety knowledge and ambition into action. At iRAP, we know that technical solutions alone don’t save lives – people need to know about them, understand and believe in them, and be inspired to act. Whether encouraging organisations to pledge for safer roads or opening doors for more women to lead in engineering, these campaigns show how compelling communications can build momentum, engage new audiences and accelerate change. We’re incredibly proud that this work has been recognised on the international stage.”
For more information on the ISMA Awards and 2026 recipients, visit isma-awards.org/.